Simon Cowell says 'X Factor' will be back, but his role may change

"The X Factor" has seen some pretty terrible ratings this season. But Simon Cowell says have no fear, his singing contest will return.

"The show will be back next season," Cowell said during a conference call with reporters Monday to promote Wednesday's two-hour season finale on Fox.

However, that news might deserve an asterisk. Cowell says his own job on the show could change. Currently, he serves as a judge and executive producer.

"I might have a different kind of role," he said, explaining that he's working with the network on what the show will look like.

It's not clear whether the network agrees that the show is indeed coming back. While the bosses gave "X Factor" early renewals in previous seasons, they have yet to say anything this time around. A Fox spokeswoman declined to comment.

Last month, a top executive at News Corp. — which owns Fox — called "X Factor's" ratings "disappointing." Thursday's episode logged just 4.9 million total viewers, according to Nielsen, and was narrowly beaten in the key adults ages 18 to 49 demographic by a telecast of NBC's rival show "The Sing-Off."